Uber hires 2 hackers to secure its fleet

Uber has recently hired two other technical experts in the person of Chris Valasek and Charlie Miller.
The two have recently showed that it is possible to remotely control a large number of vehicles.

Using the internet, they tracked down the car's location's, learned their speeds and showed that they could, in some cases, manipulate the car's brakes and steering. Valasek and Miller were also able to control the cars' blinkers, wipers, radios, and lights.

Miller works previously for the National Security Agency as a "global network exploitation specialist". He was also hired by Twitter after he became popular for exploiting Android and Apple devices.

Valasek and Miller decided to focus on cars since they thought that they were a more concrete target and that more cars can be now controlled by the internet. Miller added that he wanted to do something that his grandmother would understand and that he wanted cars to be more secure because he drives them, too.

Miller and Valasek discovered that a hardware chip that connected Fiat Chrysler cars to the internet is vulnerable to hacking. They also discovered another way to get into another chip that had control over the car's locks and electronics. They even showed that they can manipulate the brakes and steering depending on the car's speed.

Fiat Chrysler then recalled 1.4 million cars after Miller and Valasek publicized the vulnerability.

The security experts have already resigned from their jobs and will be working on Uber's Advanced Technology Center, which will work on vehicle safety and autonomy as well as mapping. The office is also responsible for identifying security problems, analyzing system defects and developing safe software and hardware systems.

Earlier this year, Uber also hired Joe Sullivan, an information security engineer from Facebook. The company also reportedly hired technical experts from Google, acquiring more than a hundred engineers.

Uber's latest hiring was reportedly valued at more than $50 billion. It has recently focused on security issues after the February breach in its computer systems.